The Last Kingdom
by Padra the Otter
Summary: The usual peace on Mistmantle is disrupted...but not in a way you might think. It's not violent revolotion; insted, it's three otters secretly planning to overthrow the king. They manage to keep it secret for a while; eventually, however, their plan comes out in the open. My first Mistmantile Fanfic! Please R&R! P.S. I'm kind of a dark writer, so some parts might be graphic.
1. Chapter 1: The Secrct Meeting

In a Mistmantle turret tower, three otters met by night. One was Noose, one of Captain Finson's brothers; the second was Larkin, a Mistmantle prison guard; and the third was Moss, whose family was killed in the Rage Tide. Larkin slipped in quietly where Noose and Moss were waiting.

"I know who has to go," said Larkin, grinning. "Tay, Granite, Gleaner, and the young ones have to go. Tay's always so literal; all Granite does is bully other animals around; and all Gleaner does is mourn over Lady Aspen's death."

"Excellent, Larkin," Noose said. Noose abruptly turned to Moss; Moss jumped and he wished he hadn't. "What do you think, Moss?" Moss didn't know what to answer, so he said, "Yes, they need to go." Noose and Larkin grinned at each other. "It's only a matter of time before I kill them and become king," Noose said.

"Our plan will take effect two weeks from now; I can't wait," Larkin grinned. Moss didn't know what to make of all this; in his heart he knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he had no choice.

** Next chapter will be up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2: Crispin's Dream

**This chapter is for Falcon007, being my first reviewer! **

The morning sun shone trough Padra's turret window. The otter captain stretched himself, got out of bed, put on his sword, and went to the Gathering Chamber. He walked through the doors and bowed to Crispin. "Good morning, Your Majesty," he said cheerfully. He looked up and noticed Crispin wasn't smiling. "What's the matter, Your Majesty?" he asked.

Crispin looked up and said gloomily, "I had a disturbing dream last night; I dreamed I was overthrown as king."

Padra didn't know what to say. "Do you want me to send for Mother Huggen?" he asked.

"No, I'll be fine." Crispin said. "You may go." Padra bowed and left. _"I should talk to Juniper about this," _he thought.

"I've never seen such appalling behaviour from you!" Tay shouted at Fingal.

"I've told you before, it wasn't me!" he shouted back. As Padra neared Fingal's chamber door, he heard the argument. He opened the door. He could not believe his eyes; the turret was a mess! Tay and Fingal stopped shouting and looked at him. "What happened? he demanded. Fingal tried to say something, but Tay got in first, "He completely made a mess of this room; he should be sent to a cell!"

"Calm down, Tay," Padra said, "he does this occasionally."

"Even so, he should be punished," said Tay firmly. She turned to Fingal, "You are to pick up this entire room."

"But-" began Fingal; the slamming of the door silenced hin. He plopped on the bench seat. "It's not fair that I have to do it," he complained.

"If you didn't do it; who did?" Padra asked. Fingal told him about the strange noises the night before and how his turret was wreaked.

"I see," said Padra. "I'm going to Juniper's room, do you want to come?"

"I can't," Fingal said.

"Oh, right," said Padra, remembering his brother had to clean the turret.

"Tay's probably flapping her gums about this to the king," Fingal said reproachfully.

"I wish I could help you, but I can't," Padra said sympathetically. "I better go to Juniper's; he's expecting me." Padra left the turret, thinking about what Fingal said to him.

Moss and Corr sat on the dock facing the water. "Isn't it beautiful?" Corr said.

"Oh, yes," Moss said. Tay was suddenly behind them. "Corr, what are you doing here; the king needs you now."

"Sorry, Mistress Tay, I lost track of time," he said.

"That's no excuse; go report to the king, now," she said sternly. Corr hurried away. Moss slipped into the water, hoping he wasn't noticed.

Corr entered the Gathering Chamber. "Ah, I wanted to see you, Corr," Crispin said. Corr burned with curiosity. _"What's he going to ask me now?" _he thought.

"Corr, I've decided to make you a captain," Crispin said. Corr nearly fainted. "Thank you very much, sir!"

"You've proved your worth, Corr. The ceremony will be tomorrow; until then, congratulations."

"Thank you, sir." Corr bowed and left. He could hardly contain his excitement. _"I know who to share this with," _he thought. He headed straight for Urchin's turret.

Fingal put the last of the items away. He heard a knock. "Who is it?"

"Mistress Tay." Fingal opened the door, and Tay walked in. She looked around the turret. "Very nice; I hope you learned a lesson today," she said.

"I did," Fingal said.

"Good." Tay left the room.

Corr knocked on Urchin's chamber door and waited. There was no answer. "Urchin?" he said, leaning against the door. The door suddenly opened, and Corr found himself on the ground. "What do you want?" a voice said. Corr picked himself up and found himself looking at a tough squirrel's face-Corr recognized the face-he was looking at Granite.

"I've come to see Urchin," he said.

"He's not here; come back later." Before Corr could respond, the door slammed shut. _"That's odd; why wouldn't Urchin be there?"_ he thought. He was slightly mystified about it, and he knew whom to ask. He headed for Juniper's turret.

Corr knocked on Juniper's turret door, and Padra opened it. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" he said.

"Slightly," said Padra. "Please wait outside the door." The door shut, and Corr waited. After a few minutes, he could hear their voices. "Fingal said that two otters wrecked his turret."

"Did he get the names?"

"No, he didn't; he said they knocked him out before making a mess of his chamber." Corr thought, _"Two otters attacking Fingal?" _he was extremely befuddled. He continued listening.

"I'll see what I can do," Juniper said.

"I'll do everything in my power, also," Padra said. They stood up.

"Heart keep you, Captain Padra."

"Same to you, Brother Juniper."

Padra opened the door, stepped out, and shut it. He looked at Corr for a long time; Corr began to feel uneasy. _"Does he know that I've been evsedropping?" _he thought. Finally, Padra put a paw on Corr's shoulder. "There's no need to speak to Juniper, I've cleared it up with him already-by the way, congratulations on your captain nomination."

"How'd you find out?" Corr asked. Padra smiled. "Word gets around," he said. Padra let go of Corr's shoulder, strolled down the hall, and disappeared from sight.

Noose opened his chamber door. As he did so, he heard a thump, yelp, a clatter, and an "ow!" He looked around the door and saw Padra on the ground. "What are you doing!"

"I didn't see you there," Noose said.

"Well, at least check before you swing open the door!"

"How would I know someone's coming!" Noose was shouting now. As the argument progressed, Noose felt a hate rising up inside himself for Padra. As Padra argued, he swished out his sword. Padra stopped shouting and grabbed his sword off the ground. As they sword fought, Granite ran in, and, to Noose's surprise, fought on Padra side. Noose knew he could not win fighting against two animals, so he decided to make a run for it. He whipped out his dagger and threw it at Granite. Whan the dagger was half-way between Noose and Granite, Urchin appeared in the doorway; without thinking, he leaped forward and pushed Granite out-of-the-way of the dagger. It sailed over Granite's head and thunked into the door frame. Noose knew he was defeated, so he ran down the hallway.

After the incident, Urchin received a message to go to Granite's chamber. _"What does he want with me?" _Urchin thought. He couldn't help that he afraid; he know not to mess with Granite. Gathering his courage, he knocked on the door.

"You can come in," Granite said. Urchin opened the door. He saw Granite sitting in a chair, slumped over, with a sad look on his face. Granite looked up and saw Urchin standing at the door. "Come here; sit," he said. Urchin sat awkwardly in a chair across from Granite; Granite looked straight at him; he began to squirm inside.

"I am sorry for all I did to you-past and present; and I'm sorry I treated you horribly on Whitewings."

_"This is a trick," _Urchin thought, _"he just wants to earn favorites." _

"My parents' deaths are why I'm this way," Granite continued, "I won't do anything to harm you again."

He held out his paws. "Give me your paws," he said. Urchin hesitated. "Give me your paws," Granite repeated. Urchin gave him his paws.

"I promise to be on the good side forever," Granite said. He let go of Urchin's paws. "You may go," Granite said. Urchin stood up and left the room. He didn't know if he should believe Granite. _"I'll be cautious for now," _he thought.

That night, Crispin and Cedar met with Padra, Dockin, Arran, Urchin, Tay, Granite, and Lugg.

"I want to start by saying that I had a disturbing dream that I was overthrown as king," Crispin said.

"That means trouble," said Lugg.

"That doesn't necessarily mean trouble," said Tay testily.

"I certainly think so," said Lugg.

"Are you challenging me?" Tay said, annoyed.

"No, ma'am," said Lugg. Tay glared at him, and Lugg stared back.

"Before this gets out of hand," said Padra, "I'd like to here Crispin's opinion."

"It was a most disturbing dream. I dreamed that Tay, Cedar, and Arran got beaten and thrown into cells; Granite, Dockin, and Lugg were forced to work for the king; and myself, Padra, and you, Urchin, were sent into exile. Everyone else was forced into servitude." Everyone was speechless.

"That ain't happening," grunted Lugg.

"If they think they can treat us that way, they're wrong," said Tay.

"I agree," grunted Granite.

"If such a thing happens, we'll be ready. I want every one of you to be on the lookout; if you see anything that seems peculiar, report to me immediately," said Crispin.

"I have one question. How do we know what's odd and what's not?" Urchin asked. Everyone stared back. "Sorry, that was a dumb question."

"Think before you speak," Tay scolded.

"Tay," said Cedar, "nobody speaks to Urchin like that." Tay rolled her eyes.

"I'll certainly be on the lookout. We'll all be," said Dockin.

"Yes, very much so," said Arran.

"Everyone get some sleep, we've got a big day tomorrow," Crispin said. Everyone bowed and left.

**I know most of you are going to say that Granite would never show repentance, but I thought that Granite had gained an unwanted reputation. My first impression of Granite was he was an antisocial ingrate. **

**Quite a dream that Crispin had! How much of it do you think is going to come true? Leave your answer in the reviews. **

**What did you think of the fight between Noose and Padra? Leave your answer in the reviews. **


	3. Chapter 3 : Corr's Nomination

The next day, everyone spent his time in preparations for Corr's nomination. Crackle, the castle chef, spent her day cooking; everyone else helped with decorations.

"Can you hand me the tape, Urchin? I need to tape this down," Needle said. Urchin handed her the tape.

"Are you excited about Corr's nomination?" Urchin asked.

"Yes, I am," Needle said.

Arran strolled over. "These look very nice, Needle," she said.

Thank you, Arran," Needle said.

"I'm going to visit Hope; see how he's doing," said Urchin. He walked to Dockin's chamber, knocked on the door, and was surprised to have Dockin open it. He looked into the chamber, and was surprised to see Hope in bed.

"He's very ill; in fact, Cedar told me he might not live," Dockin said. These words hit Urchin like a ton of bricks, and Dockin caught him as he fell.

"Here, sit down," he said, offering Urchin a chair. As Urchin sat down, he noticed something under Hope's bed; he picked it up.

"What's that?" Dockin asked. Urchin did not answer; instead, Dockin saw his mouth slowly drop open.

"Well?" Dockin asked again. Urchin put a paw around the phial.

"We must tell the king immediately," he said.

"What is it?" Dockin asked again. Urchin handed him the phial.

"Well, I'll be," exclaimed Dockin, "my son's been poisoned!" Urchin and Dockin hurried to the royal chambers, crashing into Noose on the way.

"Where are you two going?" he asked.

"To the royal chambers; my son's been poisoned," explained Dockin. Noose said nothing; he pushed past them and continued walking down the hall.

_"Dumbbell," _thought Urchin. They reached the chambers and knocked on the door.

"I'll be with you in a minute," Crispin said through the door.

"We need you now; it's very urgent," said Urchin. The door opened. "Come in; have a seat," Crispin said. Urchin noticed that Apple was sitting there too. Her hat was noticeably sideways on her head, but Urchin said nothing.

"How's my Urchin doing," she bellowed.

"He's doing fine, Apple," Cedar said. "You may go."

"I heard about them attacks," she said. "No one hurts other animals when I'm around."

"Very nice," said Crispin, coaxing her toward the door.

"No one hurts my Urchin, either," she shouted from the hall.

"Thank you, Apple," Crispin said. He closed the door and sat back down.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked. Dockin handed him the phial.

"This is the deadliest poison know to animals-it's called cypress poising-it will kill a young animal in twenty-four hours."

"Then my son needs medicine right away," Dockin said quickly. "Urchin, go down to the cellar and get cypress medicine," he ordered. Urchin got up and hurried out the door. On his way to the cellar, he ran into someone-he fell to the ground, heard wood breaking and glass shattering-he sat, and saw an otter he'd never seen before.

"I'm sorry, sir, are you okay?" Urchin asked.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped.

"Sorry, sir, I'll clean this immediately," said Urchin, feeling bad.

"You'd better," the otter said testily, glaring at him. "I'm Copper, if your curious," he said. He disappeared down the hallway. Sometime later, Lugg clambered down the hall and saw Urchin cleaning.

"There you are; Dockin's been waiting for you for a half-hour," he said sclodingly, clearly annoyed. Suddenly remembering what he was supposed to do, Urchin said to Lugg, "Tell Dockin I'll be there soon." He raced off to the cellar. In the cellar, he told the mole he needed medicine.

"Here you go," the mole said, handing him a bottle.

"Thank you," Urchin said. He ran up the stairs.

"Wait-" began the mole, but Urchin was already gone. Urchin ran into the room and handed Dockin the bottle.

"Sorry, sir," Urchin said.

"Don't do that again," Dockin said crossly. He measured out the medicine and gave Hope the dose.

"He should feel better by tomorrow," Lugg said.

"I hope so," said Dockin.

At the ceremony, Crispin and Cedar sat on their thrones; Padra and Arran stood on each side. The doors of the Gathering Chamber opened, and Corr walked in followed by Granite, Tay, Dockin, Urchin Juniper, and Lugg. Corr reached the foot of the throne, bowed, and waited to be nominated a captain. Needle brought forward a pillow with a captain's circlet resting on it. Padra took the circlet from the pillow and held it above Corr's head.

"I now pronounce you a captain of Mistmantle," he said. He laid the circlet on Corr's head; everyone cheered.

While everyone danced at the party, Noose and Larkin sneaked out of the chamber. In their own turret, they planned who to harm next.

"I think we should harm Padra's kids next," Larkin grinned.

"Tide and Swanfeather?" asked Noose.

"Yes, them," Larkin said.

"Very well; we'll harm them after everyone is asleep," said Noose.

At the party, while Moss danced, he kept at an otter with coppery-colored skin. _"He does look fimillar," _he thought. He paid so much attention to it that he bumped into Urchin.

"Who's that?" Moss asked, pointing to the otter.

"That's Copper; I met him earlier today," said Urchin.

"Copper's the name of my brother; unfortunately, my family was killed in the Rage Tide-I was the only survivor," said Moss.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," said Urchin.

"Urchin, do yo want to dance," Sepia asked from behind them. Urchin turned.

"I'd love to!" he exclaimed. Sepia and Urchin danced off together.

Moss looked back to where the otter was standing, but he was gone. He remembered having a brother named Copper and how he was always tough and always fighting with his parents; eventually, he moved out and Moss never saw him again. When the Rage Tide hit, Moss received news that Copper was dead. He was welcomed into the castle sometime later.

Copper walked along the corridor, enjoying the Threadings.

_"Cedar told me these tell the story of the island," _he thought. He saw one where Lord Husk was being doomed to a dungeon; another showed Urchin bringing down Whitewhigs' King Silverbirch; finally, the last one showed Gleaner killing the Silver Prince.

_"I wonder if I could I could be on this wall," _he thought. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous for these other animals' achievements.

As he walked by a chamber door, he heard voices. As quietly as he could, he sneaked over to the door.

"We're going to harm Padra's kids tonight." Copper recognized the voice; it was Larkin's voice.

"Now, we need to find a way to 'get rid of' our target animals." Noose's voice.

"I'll find out a way," Larkin said.

"For now, let's celebrate and drink." Copper heard a champagne cork go "Pop!" and it being poured into two glasses.

"Cheers," Larkin said. Copper decided that he'd heard enough. As quietly as possible, he sneaked back into the Gathering Chamber. A little bit later, Copper had had time to think about his plan of action.

_"I'll keep it to myself," _he thought.

**Another chapter down! Things are getting exciting! Did you notice Noose didn't say anything when Dockin said his son had been poisoned? That's an inking of what happens later in the chapter. **

**Also, when Apple says, "I heard about them attacks," it's just the way she talks; it's not bad grammar. **

**Of course Urchin bumps into Sepia! Ha ha! **

**Quite a conversation that Copper overheard. These otters are up to no good!**

**Poor Crackle; she's in the kitchen all alone.**

**Do you think Copper is Moss's brother? Leave your answer in the reviews. **

**Who do you think poisoned Hope? Leave your answer in the reviews. **

**Copper fighting with his parents, (sigh) a sad reality of today's world.**

**Anyway, I'm going to stop before I ramble on. **

**Please review! **

**Padra the Otter **


	4. Chapter 4: Padra's Misfortune

The entire castle woke to cloudy skis the next morning. Padra woke up early, and he found it odd that his kids weren't running around as usual.

"Kids, you should be up; I'm not playing this 'not getting up game'." He pulled back the curtain where his kids' beds were, and absolute horror met his eyes. Both his kids were on the floor, beaten and bleeding. "Tide!" Padra yelled, kneeling beside his son. He put Tide's chest to his ear; he did not hear a heartbeat.

"What it is, Padra?" Arran asked, appearing in the doorway. Padra heard his wife gasp and glass shattering as Arran dropped the vase she was holding. Padra and Arran grabbed their kids and hurried to the royal chambers. They burst through the door, surprising the king and queen.

"We need your help," said Padra breathlessly, "our kids might be dead." Cedar, who was a good healer, promptly obeyed Padra's request. She put an ear to Tide's and Swanfeather's chests. Padra was anxious to hear his kids' conditions.

"I will be able to revive them; however, they were so severely beaten that one of them might be crippled."

Padra and Arran let go the breaths they were holding. _Thank the Heart," _Padra thought.

"Do you think the otters that were in Fingal's chamber beat our kids?" Arran asked.

"Possibly," said Crispin.

"We'll be on a sharper lookout after this," Padra said. Suddenly, Tay walked in. "What's going on here?" she asked. Padra looked at Crispin and Cedar as a signal not to say anything. They missed it and told Tay the story. "How appalling!" she exclaimed. She stormed out of the room. Padra was furious, but he kept it inside himself.

"You two may go," Cedar said. Padra abruptly left the room without even bowing. Arran bowed and followed him.

"Padra-" began Arran. Padra stopped and whirled around. Arran could tell he was aggravated.

"I looked at the as a signal not to say anything. I'm going to speak to them later today."

"Calm down, Padra, they probably missed it," Arran said.

"They shouldn't have," Padra retorted. He turned and walked away.

_"I should let him be," _thought Arran.

In Dockin's chamber, Hope was feeling better; but he was still a little feverish. "I'm fine, Dad," he would say to Dockin. Padra's kids recovered, but Tide was permanently scarred by a cut on his left arm. Fingal's chamber wasn't wreaked again, and all the islanders took the incidents as a passing evil. Two weeks went by, and everyone forget the occurrences.

**I know the chapter is short, but it had to be. **

**Why do you think Padra wanted to keep his kid's misfortune secret? Review. **

**If everyone forgot the occurrences, evil will strike without them knowing. It's like 'the calm before the storm.' **

**Please review! **

**Padra the Otter **


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